5 most affordable cities to buy a house

Houses are more affordable in some places than others. Does your metro area rank near the top or bottom?

Lenders say a home is affordable when your house payment plus other debt payments add up to 36 percent or less of household income. Interest.com, a Bankrate-owned company, gathered data about housing costs and other debt in the nation's 25 largest metropolitan areas. In the most affordable cities, including Detroit, Atlanta, Minneapolis, Phoenix and St. Louis, total monthly debt was well below 36 percent of median income.

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